GENESEE COUNTY, Michigan — The accusations were stomach-turning: elderly parents living in feces, relatives stealing $100,000 or more, even neglect so severe it amounted to murder.

The vast majority of high-profile elder abuse cases in Genesee County prosecuted in the last three-plus years ended with convictions of far lesser crimes.

Of the 19 cases highlighted by the county’s Elder Abuse and Exploitation Prevention task force since its inception in November 2007 because they were so egregious — just three of the people charged received prison time, according to court records reviewed by The Flint Journal.

Most of those accused ended up being convicted only of minor misdemeanors. The other four cases still are working their way through the court system.

“The whole thing was an absolute joke,” said Scott Davis, who spoke on behalf of his mother, Mary Jo Davis, who was accused of stealing up to $800,000 from her 78-year-old brother and charged with first-degree elder abuse, a 15-year felony. “What they did to my mom and my uncle was terrible. It absolutely has taken the life out of her.”

In the end, Mary Jo Davis pleaded guilty to non-sufficient funds of more than $500 and was ordered to pay $2,100 in fines.

Defense Attorney Frank Manley said defendants are being victimized by the process.

“They are almost always demonized right out of the gate,” Manley said. “If you are charged with (elder abuse), you are put on par with a child molester. It’s an uphill battle.”

Manley represented the accused in one of the biggest elder abuse cases to come out of Genesee County.

David Leyton

Christopher Mukdsi was charged with felony murder for the 2008 death of his mother Katherine Mukdsi of Flint Township, in what at the time was viewed as a potentially landmark case.

Prosecutors accused Mukdsi of neglecting his 73-year-old mother so badly that she died after suffering from a lethal combination of malnutrition, dehydration and infected bed sores.

Avoiding the possibility of life in prison, Mukdsi pleaded in January 2010 to a lesser charge of manslaughter, a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison. At sentencing, he was given no additional jail time to the 316 days in jail he had already spent in jail.

Prosecutors said witness testimony changed from the initial investigation, making it difficult to try the murder charge.

Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton said many of those accused in elder abuse cases are first-time offenders and would receive a similar sentences if the cases had gone to trial.

Genesee County Sheriff Robert Pickell said he’s disappointed the majority of cases aren’t getting felony convictions, but said that is difficult to achieve.

The Elder Abuse and Exploitation team was created after the passage of the countywide senior millage. It has a $700,000 a year budget.

“A lot of these cases, they would have fell between the cracks,” Pickell said. “This a wonderful program. These cases were always out there but nobody was making them. It’s just a very important program.”

The cases take a significant amount of time and manpower to investigate, said Pickell.

“They are very difficult cases to make,” Pickell said. “We have to prove the level competency and how vulnerable the person is.”

Leyton said his office prosecutes elder abuse “very aggressively.”

Randy D. Brooks and his brother Travis were accused of allowing their 69-year-old grandfather to live in filth and ignoring his needs as a diabetic in June 2009.

They both were charged with second degree elder abuse, a four-year felony. Randy Brooks, who was 17 at the time, also was charged with three counts of resisting and obstructing a police officer during the investigation.

Investigators said the home was full of used adult diapers and trash and the two young men were responsible for the man’s care.

Travis Brooks pleaded guilty to fourth-degree vulnerable adult abuse, a one-year misdemeanor and was released from jail. He was sentenced to 100 days in jail, the time he already had served since his arrest.

“My life hasn’t been right since then,” Travis Brooks said. “I couldn’t get a job anywhere.”

The elder abuse charge was dropped against Randy Brooks, and he pleaded guilty to one of the resisting counts and was sentenced to 15 days in jail with credit for time served.

Randy Brooks said his grandfather simply refused to take his medication. He said his grandfather would have violent outbursts when he and his brother tried to give him the medication.

“I was 17,” he said. “I did everything I could.”

The Brooks brothers said they were not the registered caregivers to their grandfather but tried as hard as they could to care for them. They said they lived with him sparingly over the years, but were not living with him at the time they were arrested.

Their grandfather died in September 2009. Randy Brooks said he believes his grandfather would have survived longer under their care.

The National Center on Elder Abuse estimates 1 to 2 million American over the age of 65 suffer some sort of elder abuse, whether it be being physically injured or financially taken advantage of. Even more go unreported, said Sharon Merriman-Nai, project director for the Delaware-based center.

The center does not keep track of convictions, but she said prosecution can be difficult because the victim may be reluctant or unable to testify.

“In many instances of abuse, the person has been victimized by a relative or someone close to them,” she said.

The length of the trial also can be intimidating to victims of elder abuse, she said.

Diane Nims, executive director of the county Elder Abuse and Exploitation team, said it has obtained 377 felony warrants since 2007. None of those cases went to trial and it is unclear how many cases actually received prison time, Pickell said.

“I would like to see all of he cases prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, but the reality of the case load doesn’t allow it,” he said. “I wish we could prosecute them all, but that’s not even realistic.”

The longest sentence won in one of the task force’s cases was against Andrea R. Neil, 30, who was accused of embezzling as much as $3 million from an elderly Flushing woman. She pleaded guilty to embezzlement more than $100,000 last year and was sentenced to 5 to 20 years in prison.

Another case that still is ongoing also has potential for two long prison sentences: Adult foster care home owner Mary Chapman was charged last November with felony murder and vulnerable adult abuse in the death of a 71-year-old woman in Chapman’s care. Her granddaughter, Vamerolyn Chapman, faces the same charges.

Pickell stands by the importance of these cases and the need to protect elderly.

“All of the cases are good cases,” he said. “These are cases that shock a community”

At a glance

High-profile elder abuse cases since 2007: 19

Felony cases pleaded down to misdemeanors resulting in fines, probation or jail: 12

Cases that resulted in prison time: 3

Cases still ongoing: 4

Source: Flint Journal files and Genesee County court records

Pleaded to lesser counts:

• Accusation: Mary Anne Aitken was accused in November 2009 of stealing as much as $20,000 from her mentally ill great uncle. Aitken, of Genesee Township, was charged with 22 counts of embezzlement from a vulnerable adult and uttering and publishing.

Result: Pleaded guilty to embezzlement from vulnerable adultmore than $200, but less than $1,000, a misdemeanor, and ordered to pay $910 in fines, one year probation.

• Accusation: After a 91-year-old Clio woman nearly was evicted from a nursing home, investigators accused her great-niece, Tamara A. Altvater, of stealing $50,000 from her from 2008 to 2009. She was charged with three counts of embezzling from a vulnerable adult, $50,000 or more but less than $100,000.

Result: Pleaded guilty in May 2010 to amended charge of embezzlement from a vulnerable adult $1,000 or more but less than $20,000, a felony, sentenced 3 years probation and pay $20,000 restitution.

• Accusation: Randy D. Brooks and his brother Travis Brooks were accused of allowing their 69-year-old grandfather to live in filth and ignoring his needs as a diabetic in June 2009. Both were charged with second-degree vulnerable adult abuse, a four-year felony. Randy Brooks also was charged with three counts of resisting police.

Result: The elder abuse charges were dropped against Randy Brooks. He pleaded guilty to one of the resisting charges. Travis Brooks pleaded guilty to fourth degree vulnerable adult abuse, a one-year misdemeanor and was sentenced to 100 days in jail with credit for time served.

• Accusation: Mary Jo Davis was charged in December 2009 with first-degree vulnerable adult abuse, a 15-year felony, and embezzling $100,000 from a 78-year-old Davison man. Investigators also believed Davis embezzled another $700,000 from the same person.

Result: Pleaded to non-sufficient funds of more than $500 and ordered to pay $2,100 in fines.

• Accusation: Archie Moore was charged with embezzlement more than $50,000, less than $100,000 in December 2008 after authorities alleged he emptied his mother's bank account in three months.

Result: Moore pleaded guilty to attempted embezzlement in 2009, a felony. He was sentenced to 90 days in jail and pay $65,000 in restitution.

• Accusation: Prosecutors claim Christopher Mukdsi neglected his 73-year-old mother so badly that she died in 2008, suffering a lethal combination of malnutrition, dehydration and infected bed sores. He was charged with murder.

Result: Sentenced to 316 days jail for homicide-manslaughter short form, a felony, in January 2010, credit for time served. He was released in November 2009, according to the Genesee County Jail.

• Accusation: Steven B. Neil, of Flint Township, was charged in January 2010 with larceny more than $20,000 from an elderly doctor from Flushing. Neil’s wife also was charged. They were believed to have stolen more than $1 million.

Result: Pleaded guilty in March to larceny less than $20,000. Ordered to serve 300 days in jail.

• Accusation: David S. Parry, of Millington was jailed in December 2008 on charges of second-degree vulnerable adult abuse. Investigators found a bucket of urine and feces in the shower and empty beer bottles and trash piled throughout the home to the point where people could barely walk from room to room.

Result: Pleaded guilty to attempted second degree vulnerable adult abuse in mid-2009 and sentenced to 90 days in jail.

• Accusation: David L. Ribarchik was charged in November 2009 with first-degree felony vulnerable adult abuse. Authorities said his mother, Mildred Ribarchik, 75, spent two months in an armchair soaked in her own urine and feces while under the care of her son.

Result: Pleaded no contest to vulnerable adult abuse, 4th degree, a misdemeanor charge. Sentenced to 46 days in jail. Taken off probation last month.

• Accusation: James J. Sampson was charged with first-degree vulnerable adult abuse for reportedly neglecting his mother over the course of eight months. Investigators said he did not give her anything to eat or drink for a week.

Result: Charges were dropped after he died in November 2009.

• Accusation: Jervon Ware was charged in December 2008 with embezzlement from a vulnerable adult, a 10-year felony. He was accused of stealing from his 82-year-old blind grandmother.

Result: Pleaded guilty to embezzlement less than $1,000, a one year misdemeanor. Sentenced to community service.

Those who received prison time

• Accusation: Anthony V. Cunturso’s mother was found in April 2009 living on a urine-soaked coach and wrapped in a blanket with roaches and maggots.

Result: Pleaded guilty to second degree vulnerable adult abuse in September 2009 and sentenced to 32 months to 4 years in prison.

• Accusation: Andrea R. Neil, of Flint Township was believed to have stolen as much as $3 million from a elderly Flushing doctor.

Result: She pleaded guilty to embezzlement more than $100,000 and was sentenced to 5 to 20 years in prison.

• Accusation: Rickie G. Woodring was charged with embezzlement from vulnerable adult more than $20,000. He was also facing child porn charges.

Result: Pleaded to attempted embezzlement from vulnerable adult more than $20,000. He was sentenced to two to five years in prison.

Cases still ongoing

• Mary Chapman, 70, of Holly Township and her granddaughter Vamerolyn Chapman, 34, of Mt. Morris Township were charged in November 2010 with felony murder and vulnerable adult abuse in a 71-year-old woman’s death.

Prelim exam set for March 2.

• Felicia M. Davis, of Flint, was accused of stealing $35,000 from a 64-year-old blind man, A warrant was authorized in November 2010 charging Davis with felony embezzlement of more than $20,000 from a vulnerable adult and using a financial transaction device without consent. The embezzlement charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison while the transaction charge has a maximum four year penalty.

Prelim exam scheduled for Feb. 23

• Best known for getting the state to pledge $9.1 million in tax credits despite the fact that he was a convicted felon, Richard A. Short also was accused of illegally obtaining power of attorney from his 84-year-old neighbor. He was charged with 24 counts of felony fraud, one count of obtaining money under false pretenses, two counts of embezzlement and 21 counts of illegally using a financial transaction device.